Committee reviews H.32 draft to clarify MOUD care in correctional settings, seeks medical testimony

At its April 1 meeting the House Committee on Corrections & Institutions reviewed a strike‑out draft of H.32 that would revise how correctional facilities screen for substance‑use disorders and continue medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) when people enter, remain in, or exit custody. Katie, legislative counsel, led the committee through the draft; Tony Follin, Division of Substance Use at the Vermont Department of Health, provided technical comments.

Katie told the committee the draft reorganizes two existing statutory sections so that general medical‑care provisions and specific substance‑use disorder rules are clearer. The draft would replace several inconsistent terms with a single defined term — “healthcare practitioner” — and add a definition of “detainee” to distinguish people awaiting trial from sentenced offenders for certain discharge‑planning rules. Katie said, “The committee decided that any drug that is authorized for MOUD doesn't have to be specifically named” in statute and instead proposed referring generically to drugs approved for MOUD.

Under the draft, correctional facilities would screen…